
Pass L n3jO 
BookJiSSL^ 






ADDRESS 

ON 

The Present Condition and Progress 
OF Popular Education 



THE CITY OF NEW YORK. \\ 



DELIVERED BT 

J. EDWARD SIMMONS, LL.D., 

ON TAKING THE CHAIR AS 

PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 
January 11, 1888. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD, 



NEW YORK; 

Hall of the Board of Educa-tion. 

146 Grand Street. 

1888. 



PRESS OF DE LEEUW, OPPENHEIMER & MYERS. 



ADDRESS ^^ 

- "^ \ 

The Present Condition and Progress 
OF Popular Education 



THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 



DELIVERED BY 



J. EDWAKD SIMMONS, LL.D., 
• » 

ON TAKING THE CHAIR AS 

PKESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, 
January 11, 1888. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD, 



NEW YORK: 

Hall of the Board of Education, 

146 Grand Street. 

1888. 



■ NsSr 



jN^W VaSK PUBL, LIBR, 



ADDRESS. 



Commissioners : 

Having assigned to me by tlie complimentary vote just 
announced the dut}' which yon desire me to perform as a co- 
laborer with you in the conservation and development of the 
Common Schools of the City of New York, it wonld surely be 
an affectation should I fail to assure yon of my sincere appre- 
ciation of the confidence you have in my loyalty to the cause and 
of the approbation you exjjress of my services hitherto. In what- 
ever chair I sit I am a member of this Board, and a unit in the 
working force of a system which wields so mighty an inlluence 
over the destinies of the future. 

It has been my effort in the past to discharge the duties of 
Presiding Officer in strict accordance with the rules and regula- 
tions laid down for our government, irrespective of every per- 
sonal consideration ; and as no appeal has been made from any 
decision I have rendered, the presumption follows that the rul- 
ings of the Chair have met with your approval. I do not hesitate 
to express the satisfaction I experience in the thought that an 
additional honor has been conferred upon me by the unanimity 
of the ballot by which you have directed that I shall continue 
in your service as President of this Board for another year. 

It must not be forgotten, however, that no service of mine can 
be successful unless supported by the hdelity, harmony and intel- 
ligent co-operation of this body, which, fortunately, with a single 
exception, will be composed of the same elements as last year — 



tlie new member being an experienced co-worker both in his 
capacity as a recent Commissioner and in his relations as a 
citizen. 

Having, therefore, in you a constituency experienced in educa- 
tional methods and principles, surely we commence the year with 
a full understanding of the duties we are expected to perform. 

I tender you my sincere thanks for the kind expression you 
have given of your approval of the past, and I pledge my best 
endeavors to co-operate with you in all the imjjortant work that 
lies before us, and, following the example of some of my prede- 
cessors, before entering upon our labors, I have deemed it proper 
to review the work of the year just past, and contemplate some 
of the possibilities of the new year upon the threshold of which 
M^e now stand. 

The record shows that the year 1887 has been a busy one, full 
of labor and anxiety, but productive of many results that can 
only be regarded as beneficial, and as results are the ultimate 
standard l)y which all executive bodies are correctly judged, it is 
fair to say that the administration of the past year has met witli 
a commendable degree of success. 

The retirement from this Board of the Hon. Stephen A. 
Walker, who for nearly seven years had presided (n-er its 
deliberations with great dignity and with conspicuous ability ; 
the loss by death of the Hon. Lawrence D. Kiernan, after a 
continuous service of fifteen years as Clerk, counselor and friend, 
a man of singular sweetness and gentleness of disposition, of 
superior ability, of infinite tact, possessing a thorough knowledge 
of parliamentary law and a masterly familiarity with all the in- 
tricacies of the school system, a vitalized cyclopedia of the rules 
and regulations, the customs and precedents of this Board ; and 
then to have David I. Stagg taken from us — an oflicer who for 
nearly fifty years had 1)een connected with our Department of 
Buildings, and who had been identified with the construction of 
nearly every school-house erected in this city during the last half 
century — certainly the loss to the system of these three gentlemen 



was like taking from tlic temple three great pillars of support. 
So when we sailed out on the unknown sea of 1887, with an inex- 
perienced navigator at the helm, I felt that it would be a source 
of honest congratulation if we could escape the shoals and quick- 
sands, outride the angry waves and reach our harbor in safety. 

We have made the voyage, the ship is safe, the cargo is secure, 
and the crew "all present or accounted for." 

In January we were confronted with a prol)lem that seemed 
extremeh' difficult of solution — how to reconcile our expend- 
itures with our resources. 

Our estimate had been greatly reduced by a co-ordinate branch 
of the City Government, which claimed the right to decide in 
genei'al, and even in detail, the amount of money to l)e devoted 
to the work of public education. In pursuance of this claim, 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, disregarding the 
practice that had prevailed in previous Boards, refused to make 
the appropriation to the Board of Education in an aggregate 
sum, but insisted on making it for specific objects, claiming that 
the Boai'd of Education is a department of the City Government 
and should come under the laws by which they are governed. 
The Board of Education has always claimed that it is a distinct- 
ive branch of government for educational ])urposes, and not a 
city department ; hence the appropriation of its money in specific 
sums is an unfair discrimination against it, for the reason that 
these appropriations for specific objects become fixed, and no 
legal right of transfer exists either in the Board of Education or 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

The opinion as to the fact that the Board of Education is not 
a department of the City Government was held by Corporation 
Counsel Whitney, as appears in our Journal of 1877, page 106, 
in M'hich he says : " Neither the charter of 1873 nor any other 
statute, so far as I am aware, authorizes the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment to transfer from one purpose to another 
sums appropriated for specific purposes on the application of the 
Board of Education. The power to make such transfer is given 



6 

to tlie Board of Estimate and Apportionment in relation to those 
appropriations only wliicli have been made for departments of 
the City Government ; and I am of the opinion that said Board 
. does not possess snch power in relation to appropriations made 
for the Board of Education." 

Irrespective of this opinion, which was concurred in by 
the Counsel to this Board and some of the most distinguished 
lawyers of this city, and in defiance of our earnest protest, the 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment proceeded to designate 
in detail the amounts to be expended for educational purposes 
in 1887 ; alleging, without the slightest foundation in fact, that 
the Board of Education had been guilty of diverting a portion 
of its funds from the specific object for which they had been 
appropriated, in order to introduce a uniform system of teach- 
ers' salaries, to which the Board of Estimate and Ap})()rtionment 
was opposed. 

In order that the Board of Education might be as greatly re- 
stricted as possible in its work, almost every amount claimed by 
us as absolutely necessary for the proper maintenance of the 
schools was reduced, notwithstanding the fact that in the pre- 
vious year unexpended balances amounting to $172,261 were re- 
turned by us to the City Treasury, and the per capita cost of 
educating a child in a Primary and Grammar School was lower 
than ever before since the establishment of the system — showing 
a prudent and economical administration on the part of this 
Board. This course placed us in a position where a general re- 
duction seemed inevitable in the pay of our four thousand teach- 
ers and employees. This ill-timed retrenchment and false econ- 
omy which the Board of Estimate and Apportionment sought to 
force upon us, created an impression in the minds of many that 
this action was prompted by men who were either hostile to the 
school system, or were not adequately informed as to its needs. 
The Board of Education directed its Counsel t(^ appeal to the 
courts, and it is hoped that a judicial decision will soon be reached 



by wliicli the questions between the two IJourds will l)e definitely 
closed. 

Tlie employees of tlie Board of Edncation, knowing ''the 
law's delay," and i-ealizing the impending danger of a decrease of 
salary, immediately took steps to prevent it, and on the second 
of rel)ruary a petition signed by over three thousand Princii)als 
and Teachers was received by this Board, requesting us to apply 
to the Legislature of the State for an Enabling Act permitting 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to reopen the budget 
for 1887, that a sufficiency of money might be appropriated for 
the proper support of the schools of this City. This memorial 
was referred to the Committee on Teachers, and at a meeting held 
February ICth, the Committee submitted a legislative bill, which 
was approved by this Board and referred to the Committee on 
Legislation at Albany, with directions that they use every honor- 
able effort to secure its passage. After much labor and expense 
on the part of the Commissioners personally, the bill, slightly 
modified, was passed, and on the 14th of March the Governor 
attached his signature to it and it became a laM'. We were not 
slow to again appear before the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment, which fortunately liad changed in its ijersonnel^ and 
after a careful review of our necessities w^e were awarded the 
money which had been deemed essential for our own use. Our 
thanks are due to the Legislature, to His Excellency Gov. Hill, 
and to His Honor Mayor Hewitt, for their services in this 
crisis. 

Political and personal prejudices, as well as hostility to the 
public school system, were in my opinion the incentive to this 
long and wearisome struggle, which finally resulted in our 
triumph. It shows clearly the great power for good or evil 
wielded by this central monetary Board, and the friends of pop- 
ular education in the City of New York should be assured that 
those who control the distribution of the public money are not 
unfriendly to the public schools. Our school system can only be 
conserved by the exclusion of political control, and i^rior to the 



action before mentioned it had been singularly free from this 
corroding cancer. 

The responsibility is thrown upon the Mayor of appointing 
Commissioners for the City, and Inspectors for the Districts. 
Upon the Board of Education rests the responsibility of selecting 
Trustees for the Wards. Under this system, admitting the occa- 
sional selection of men not the best adapted to the work, the 
general character of the School Boards has been high and their 
work has been well done. 

The members of this Board should be selected as popular, not 
personal representatives. The appointing power is not a legis- 
lative or judicial power to govern the system. If it should be- 
come clearly understood that any Mayor asserts the right to di- 
rect appointments in any department, or prescribe expenditures 
in any channel of this Board, the people will give their own ver- 
dict of approval or dissent. Whatever may be the legal or as- 
sumed powers of other branches of the City administration, the 
autonomy of the School Board, at least, must be rigidly main- 
tained. 

Another difficulty that confronted us at the beginning of the 
year w^as the impaired condition of many of our school buildings. 
Complaints were made as to their safety and healthfulness by both 
the City Department of Buildings and the Board of Health. A 
careful investigation gave evidence that the complaints were not 
without foundation, and steps were immediately taken to remedy a 
condition consequent in part upon the action of the Board of Esti- 
mate and Apportionment, partly from the inefficiency of those to 
whom the care of the buildings was intrusted, and partly from the 
lack of harmony between our own Department of Buiklings and 
the Engineer's Department. The embarrassment became so great 
that the Board finally decided to refer the investigation of the 
whole matter to a Joint Committee consisting of the Committee 
on Buildings and the Committee on Warming and Ventilation. 
Before the report of the Joint Committee had been submitted 
to the Board, the Engineer transmitted his resignation. At the 





iiiec'tiii<^- licld JiiiiL' 1st, the })o\vers and duties of the Cuiniiiittee 
on Warming and Ventihition were transferred to the Committee 
on Buildings, and the two Committees were consolidated into a 
single committee of seven members, known as tlie Connnittee 
on Buildings. 

The office of Engineer was abolished, and his duties were 
transferred to the Superintendent of Buildings. Important 
changes were made in the Incidental Fund, giving the Boards of 
Trustees greater freedom in the care of the school buildings, sim- 
])lif jing and lessening the work in the preparation, anditing, and 
paying of bills. These changes have been highly advantageous, 
having facilitated business and secured a greater degree of effi- 
ciency throughont the system. 

The work done under the supervision of the Committee on 
Buildings during the past year has been greater and more com- 
plicated than ever before, and the evidence is not wanting that 
the large expenditures for the construction of new buildings and 
the repairs, alterations, etc., to old ones, have been made with 
careful economy and superior judgment. The j)olicy of the 
Board is to erect capacious and durable buildings, with the least 
outlay for expensive and gratuitous ornamentation. 

The school property of the city covers nearly forty acres of 
territory, on which there are 18-1 school buildings, which are 
under the control of the Board of Education. According to a 
recent estimate made by reliable real estate experts, the value of 
the buildings and the sites on which they stand, together with 
the sites that are not yet improved, amounts to $1 8, 7-12, 242, ex- 
clusive of furniture, supplies, and necessary appliances. The 
detail management of this vast and valuable property is in a large 
degree referred to the Connnittee on Buildings, and from tlie 
extensive character of this important trust some conception may 
be had of the burden of care and responsibility that rests upon 
the seven gentlemen who compose this Connnittee. 

Dui-ing 1887 three large school buildings were erected, two of 
which are now in use, and the other will soon be ready for occu- 
pancy. The seating capacity will enable us to provide for 3,082 



10 

additiuiial pupils. ■ The plans and specilications now in prepara- 
tion contemplate the construction of nine new school buildings 
in 1888, which will afford a seating capacity for 19,500 pupils. 
It is estimated that there are at the present time in the city about 
12,000 children who are unable to obtain admission to the public 
schools on account of insufficient accommodation. The average 
increase per year of school children is now about 5,000, the ratio 
advancing with the growth of the population. It must l)e appar- 
ent, therefore, that when the buildings shall be ready for occu- 
pancy which we propose to construct during the current year, 
the school acconnnodations will be sufficient to enable us to 
receive all the children who may apply for admission. 

If we could transfer the cliildren who ask admission to the 
schools of the Twelfth, Nineteenth. Twenty-second, Twenty- 
third and Twenty-fourth Wards to the lower part of the city, 
where many of the schools, on account of a receding population, 
are languishing from a lack of attendance, we could at once 
abate, to a large extent, the evil of childi-en being denied admis- 
sion to school-houses adjacent tu their homes. 

The heating apparatus, the ventilatit)n and the plumbing in our 
school buildings have been greatls' improved, and instead of the 
complaints which we have been accustomed to receive during the 
past few years, words of commendation come to us from every 
side. The Board of Health, at a meeting held October 6, 1887, 
passed a resolution very complimentary in its character, approv- 
ing the sanitary appliances introduced into our school buildings 
by our painstaking and vigilant Superintendent. There is oppor- 
tunity for still greater improvement, and the effort of this 
Department is to make every room in every school-house a per- 
fectly healthful place ; and when the repairs for the present year 
shall have been completed, we coniidentl}" believe that our school 
buildings will be brought up to i\\& line of the latest improve- 
ment in all matters relating to sanitation. I do not hesitate to 
say that our school buildings are to-day in better condition than 
they have ever been before." 

For a long period the desire has l)een strongly expressed by 



11 

the residents in that densely populated ])()rti(>n of the city below 
Fourteenth street, known as the Eai<t Side, for the estaljlishnient 
of an Evenine; High School, similar to the Evening High School 
held in Grammar School No. 35, on the West Side. 

The public appeals became very urgent, but economic con- 
siderations pleaded for delay until it was shown that an experi- 
mental compliance could be made without serious expenditure. 
After long and mature deliberation, the authority foi the 
organization of this school was given by the Board on the llth 
of September. Notwithstanding this late date and the brief 
period for the announcement of the opening of the school, more 
than eighteen hundred applications for admission were made 
during the two weeks of registration, and of these, eleven hundred 
pupils, after a careful examination, were admitted. The average 
attendance since the opening of the school has been nine hundred. 
With this evidence of great success, I think the Board will l)e 
justified in responding to the appeals of the citizens of the 
Twelfth Ward for an Evening 'High School in Harlem. 

I regret to say that the Senior and Junior Evening Schools, 
considered by many as indispensable institutions, do not grow in 
strength and eifectiveness commensurate with their cost. An 
examination of the records will certainly satisfy you as to the 
accuracy of this statement. In 1878 the whole nund)er of pupils 
enrolled was 18,812, and the average attendance for the term was 
7,655, at a cost to the city of $75,935. In 1886 the whole num- 
ber of pupils enrolled was 19,832, the average, attendance 7,251, 
while the cost to the city was $92,260. The average attend- 
ance in 1886 was 404 pupils less than in 1878, but the cost was 
$16,685 greater. This condition should not exist. The exhibit 
proves either that the schools are not proj^erly managed, or that 
some are not needed. 

The ahsenteehm in these schools is deplorable, as indicated by 
the fact that only about one-third of the whole number of pupils 
enrolled attend during the entire term, and it is feared that much 
of this absenteeism is without the knowledge of parents or 
guardians, (yhildren who are exhausted by their daily labors are 



12 

plijsically niial)le to do tlie woi-k of tlie class-room. Statistics 
corroborate the stateuient that a larii^e number, both male and 
female, use the evening school as an excuse to escape parental 
supervision, and spend the evening roaming about the streets 
when they should be at home and at rest. 

These schools were originally intended for apprentices, clerks, 
and for young men and women of a more mature age ; but they 
seem to have been in part diverted from their true purpose, and 
to oj)en a wide door for demoralization and injury among the 
junior pupils who nominally attend them. 

If the Junior Evening Schools for Males are to be continued, 
they should be made more efficient. I am clearly <:)f the opinion 
that the Junior Evening Schools for Females should be abol- 
ished. The Evening Schools are important branches of the sys- 
tem, and they should be made, if possible, more attractive and 
practical. A wider range of studies should be adopted, so that 
they may have a more specific adaptation to the industrial pur- 
suits of the learners, and thus inspire them to look upon labor 
with a more intelligent eye and practice it with a more artistic 
hand. The working classes who are engaged in their " mannal " 
and '' technical '' schools of daily labor, should be so animated 
with a desire to enrich their intellectual stores, that they would 
seize the privilege of well-lighted and cheerful class-rooms, fur- 
nished with every equipment necessary to enable them to prepare 
themselves for the highest usefulness in their respective callings. 

Many of the pupils of these schools are obliged to labor at 
night for some time preceding the holidays, and hence the attend- 
ance is so reduced it seems to be almost useless in many cases to 
open the doors. I am of the opini(jn that it would be well to 
close all the Evening Schools about the loth of December, and 
re-open them on the second Monday in January. I commend 
these important matters to your earnest consideration. 

One of the greatest difficulties with which we have been 
obliged to contend has been the exorbitant speculative prices 
demanded for property proposed or named for school sites, and 
the reluctance of land-owners to sell their property for educa- 



13 

tiuiial purposes. ^Plie selection ot a pi'opci' site is an imperative 
condition to future success, and the BoHr<l luis long and deeply 
felt tlie need of protection against the greed <»f j)roperty owners 
or combinations of real estate speculators. In order to secnre this 
needed protection, a hill was prepared and submitted to the 
l^egislature at its last session, known as the " Eniinent Domain 
Bill^'' '' An Act to provide for the appraisal of and the acquiring 
title to lands taken for or in addition to sites for school-houses.'" 

Through the iniluence and skill of some of the niend)ers of 
this Board, the e(|uity of this bill w^as brought prominently to 
the attention of both branches of the Legislature, and in the month 
of May it was passed and became a law. I regard this as a most 
important measure in the interest of the common school system, 
and I cannot but believe that it will result in a very consideral)le 
saving to the city, and enable us to locate our sites and buildings 
with greater adaptation to the wants of the people. 

The long-needed and long-contemplated revision and recodifi- 
cation of the by-laws, which had become somewhat fragmentary 
from frequent amendments and changes, have at length been 
accomplished, and the present systematic compilation of all our 
laws, rules and regulations is widely approved by those who 
make use of the Manual. 

The schedule for uniform salaries of teachers has been in suc- 
cessful operation long enough to prove it to be one of the most 
progressive steps taken by this Board for man}- years. Its intro- 
duction was vigoronsly opposed by the Board of Estimate and 
Apjjortionment, because it involved an increase in the general 
salary list of about ^55,000. While in a few individual cases a 
decrease was made in order to secure uniformity, the adoption of 
the scheme grew out of the conviction that it was a 7iecessary 
refor7ii and the only actual compliance with the statute that had 
ever been attempted. Dealing as we do with aggregate ques- 
tions, and legislating for aggregate interests, personal demands 
must be subordinated to the harmony of the system. The 
teachers as a body approve of the change, and concede the su- 
periority of the new over the old plan. Some people, however, 



14 

contend that a still greater improvement can l)e made l)y equal- 
izing the salaries of the (xrammar and the Primary School teach- 
ers, the latter claiming that they undergo the same examination 
to obtain a license ; they teach iifty children in a class, while in 
the Grammar Schools only thirty-five are allowed ; they are em- 
ployed the same number of hours ; their responsibilities are 
eipial ; their work requires as much ability and experience, and 
therefore there is no sufficient reason why the compensation 
should not be equalized. There appears to be some weight in 
these arguments, and it is not easy to say how far the distinction 
is, after all, only an arbitrary one. Assuredly if a healthful 
esprit de corjps is to be maintained among our teachers, a rule 
should be adopted and incoi'porated in our bj^-laws making a 
Grammar School teacher ineligible as Principal of a Primary 
School, and a Primary School teacher ineligible as Principal of a 
Grammar School. 

There is another alleged inequality in the scheme of salaries, 
to which I invite your attention. Why should the increase of 
pay for length of service be confined to Principals to the ex- 
clusion of all other teachers % I question the virtue of a theory 
that discriminates in so marked a degree in favor of Principals. 
If there be any virtue in the theory, the assistant teacher with an 
excellent record for fourteen years should receive some considera- 
tion. It must be apparent to all that the maximum salary paid 
to a Principal of a school of less than two hundred pupils is a sum 
out of all proportion to the amount of increase justifiable for 
mere length of service. 

An important arm of our system is the Compulsory Education 
law. Under its operation the vagrant children who float about our 
streets, and from whom the criminal classes are largely recruited, 
are compelled to receive instruction in order that they may be 
able to sustain themselves and not become a burden to the State. 

Since the passage of this law in 18T4, the police records show 
a most gratifying decrease of juvenile crime, of pauperism and 
illiteracy. It costs the city ^9.80 per annum to educate a child 
in a Grammar School, and |110 per annum to maintain a criminal 



15 

in the Peiiiteiitiary. Fonr-tiftlis of all our criniiiials are unedu- 
cated. Wherever you find in tliis country tlie niaxiniuni of 
wealth, you also iind tlie inininiuni of illiteracy, and. therefoi'e, 
the wisest statesmen have conchided that the best way to dimin- 
ish the crime and decrease the pauperism of a community is to 
minimize the ignorance. This we seek to do by the enforcement 
of the Compulsory Education law. There are twelve Truant 
Agents who perform the work of this department under the 
direction of the City Superintendent. 

Witli a large and diversified territory to cover, with an average 
daily attendance of more than 155,000 children in our schools to 
oversee, and with an unknown number who are non-attendants, 
but who need the supervision of these agents, the work of this 
departinent is severe and exacting. 

More than 35,000 visits were made by these agents during the 
last year. They returned to school 3,944 truants, and placed 
in school 1,322 non-attendants, children between eight and four- 
teen years of age found wandering about the streets without 
any occupation and who had not attended school the requii-ed 
fourteen weeks. Fifty-five children were committed to refonna- 
tories. The cost of maintaining this department is about $7,000 
less per annum than it was ten years ago, and the results achieved 
after thirteen years of trial are sufficiently satisfactory to prove 
the efficacy of the law. It seems apparent that the economy 
practiced in this department during recent years is not a wise 
one, for the reason that it has retarded and circumscribed work 
in a very important field, which is becoming vastly wider by the 
growth of the city, and far more urgent because of the rapid 
increase in our population. 

There are defects in the law sjjecially relating to the proceed- 
ings in making arrests that should be remedied by amendment 
of the statute. A Truant Officer cannot make an arrest. A com- 
plaint must be made to a police magistrate and a warrant obtained. 
The warrant is placed in the hands of a police officer, who, in 
company with the Agent of Truancy, starts out in search of the 
delinquent, whom it sometimes is very difficult to find ; when 



16 

found, and before lie can be conjmitted, lie must be conducted to 
the Police Court and take his place at the bar among thieves and 
vagabonds of every grade. Were the law so amended as to re- 
move all cases that arise under its operation from police magis- 
trates and officers, b}^ making all truant cases simpl)- offences 
against school regulations or discipline (for they are nothing else), 
a great improvement would be effected. This might necessitate 
the investing of an officer of this Board with magisterial power, 
if such powei- can be granted l:>y the Legislature. Under the 
present law truants may be committed, subject to the order of 
this Board as to their release, to the Catholic Protectory, the 
Juvenile Asylum, and the Reformatory on Randall's Island, 
where they must necessarily come in contact with criminals and 
thieves of their own age. The need of a suitable place for the 
detention of these young children, who have committed no crime, 
where they may l)e free from criminal influences, is apparent. 
The city of Brooklyn has established a reform ator}' for her 
truants — why should Kew York fail to test its advantages? 

The introduction of manual training in the schools has en- 
gaged the attention of this Board for several years, but it re- 
mained until the year just closed to devise a plan that seemed 
sufficiently feasible to make it a part of our regular course of study. 
The investigation of this subject was intrusted early in the year 
to the Committee on Coui'se of Study, and the able report sub- 
mitted by this Committee in June shows, by its scholarly and 
comprehensive character, with what thoroughness the investiga- 
tion has been pursued. While the progressive and aggressive 
spirit of this report elicits admiration for the boldness of those 
who framed it (the plan being a pioneer one, unlike any yet put in 
operation), my conservative tendencies induce me to believe that 
New York, with its vast educational machinery, should follow 
rather than lead in a reform that seems in many respects radical 
and revolutionary. In a system as great as ours, changes should 
]iot be hastily made. Even that which is admitted to l)e in itself 
advantageous and desirable, should be clearly defined as to its 
scope and usefulness by actual experiment before it be permitted 



IT 

to set aside anything that has the sanction of long-established 
nsage and has thus far met, at least reasonably well, the public 
demand and expectation. The school system of this city has been 
altered, revised and amended at different times during the last 
forty years, and the present Course of Study is the outgrowth of 
much thoughtful and earnest labor. To radically change the 
course of instruction, to ascertain what forms of industrial educa- 
tion, and how much of them, can be profitabl}' and legitimately 
engrafted on it, so as to benefit not the few but the many, 
and, as the burden to the pupil is to be in no wise increased, to 
determine what studies and exercises now in use shall be cur- 
tailed or altogether omitted, in order to make room for these new 
requirements — all this constitutes a prol)lem the most complex 
and the most important ever submitted to this Board. There 
must l)e a fitting up and ^preparation of Iniildings ; there must ha 
an outla}' for materials and appliances necessary for the work ; 
the Normal College Committee must prepare and begin a Course 
of Instruction in Manual and Industrial Training, so that a body 
of qualified teachers may always l)e at the command of the 
Trustees of the Wards ; in fact, a material change must be made 
in the general educational scheme, in order that manual training- 
may be assimilated with and become a part of our curriculum of 
study. 

Proceeding with the caution and deliberation which the sub- 
ject demands, this Board, at its meeting held October 5tli, deter- 
mined to try as an experiment in twelve of our schools the plan 
submitted by the Committee on Course of Study in their report 
of June 29, 1887. The la1)or which this Committee has per- 
formed in connection with the subject of manual training is sim- 
pl}" prodigious, and I cannot refrain from publicly commending 
them for their industry and for the intelligent and comprehensive 
character of the work accomplished. When I contemplate, how- 
ever, the eliminations that have been made from our course of 
study during the past few years, that too great a burden might 
not rest upon the pupils, and that, in order to introduce manual 
training, our course of study must be subjected to still further 



IS 

excision, a shadow of conservatism conies over my vision ; and 
while I believe in industrial education, and regard it as one of 
the great needs of the day, I do not approve of sacrificing that 
whicli is good unless it can be clearly shown that something hetter 
is to take its place. In tliis connection it is pertinent to remind 
you that manual training has been a part of our system for several 
years, having been already introduced in tlie College of the City 
of New Yorlv; all students oS'er fourteen years of age and prop- 
erl}' qualiiied are admitted to the technical branches. The prog- 
ress made is worthy of all praise, and the Faculty are thoroughly 
convinced of the advantages that follow from the introduction of 
this branch of study. 

Our Nautical School is also in the line of technical education. 
It was created b}^ Act of the Legislature in 1873. Its object 
is to prepare boys for a sea-faring life, to fit them to sail, to navi- 
gate and to command vessels on the high seas. The school is 
conducted on the sliiji " St. Mary's," loaned to the City of Xew 
York by the government of the United States. Ofhcers detailed 
from the United States Navy have charge of the instruction, but 
all the expenses are paid out of our School Fund. The students 
not only receive the technical instruction that qualifies them for 
a profession in which they can at all times earn a livelihood, but 
they are also provided during the course, which covers a period 
of two years, with a comfortable home free of expense. The 
valuable instruction given by this school should of itself draw 
more than enough students to utilize its entire capacity. With 
accommodations for 130 pupils, we iind the average attendance 
during the past few years has l)een a little over fifty per cent, of 
the capacity. In 1886 the average attendance was 72, and the 
per capita cost, exclusive of repairs to the ship, was $285.04. 

In 1887 the average attendance was 78, and the per capita 
cost $262.04. The number of pupils now in the school is 67. 
During the fourteen years of its existence the school has 
graduated 448 pupils, sixty-nine per cent, of whom have followed 
the sea as a profession. With the large population of over two 
millions of people living about us from which to draw our pupils, 



we may well seek the reason for so small an attendance, and ask 
the question, Why is the school not a success 'i The reason 
assigned bv some is the want of knowledge on the part of the 
public of the opportunities afforded. Others claim that the 
small attendance is evidence that a ]^autical School is not wanted 
l)y the people. It has been suggested that it be thrown open to 
the entire State, and it has also been urged that if the students 
were admitted from all parts of the United States, the general 
government would contribute to the support of the school. 
Applicatioiis come to us from almost every section of the country 
from those who are eager to avail themselves of the privileges 
this school affords, accompanied with oifers to pay all expenses 
for the full course. Under the law, we are compelled to stand in 
the gang-way and tell non-resident applicants, " You cannot 
come on board this ship." The law creating the Nautical 
School contains no restriction relative to the residence of the 
liupils. Our by-laws prescribe this limitation, and it rests with 
us to declare who shall be admitted, and to make such regula- 
tions for the admission of non-resident pupils as may be con- 
sidered just. That tlie ISTautical School is not and never has 
been a success can l)e easily established by an examination of 
the records of this Board. It is the most expensive branch 
of our school system, the per capita cost being nearly ten 
times greater than in one of our Grammar Schools. The duty 
of this Board is not optional ; the mandatory character of the 
Act by wliich this school was created compels us to maintain it. 
I am clearly of the opinion that the Xautical School should be 
made a successful Ijranch of our system, or the law under which 
it Avas established sliould be repealed. 

The Normal College is the most important single branch of 
our school system ; it is the fountain that makes the system 
efficient by its annual re-enforcement of educated teachers thor- 
oughly trained for school work. Our schools stand on a high 
plane and are unsurpassed by those of any other city in the 
world, but without the Normal College, the system, in my 
opinion, would be well-nigh bankrupt to-day. With all the 



20 

sweet blessings that flow from this exalted seat of learning, 
there are those who do not approve its mission, and who seek to 
curtail its influence and circumscribe its usefulness. 

The foes of the common schools strike at the head of the sys- 
tem, and thus seek to paralyze it in all its members. The history 
of this College is before us, its results are knoM'u, its necessity 
has been demonstrated, and the time has come, in my judgment, 
when it should be placed upon a basis similar to that of the Col- 
lege of the City of New York, beyond the reach of both open and 
concealed adversaries. With this end in view, I shall, at a futui-e 
meeting of this Board, submit a legislative bill, which I trust will 
meet with your appi'oval and receive your support. 

It is too commonly believed that the Janitors of our school 
buildings have an easy and profitable employment, and whenever 
a vacancy occurs there are numerous applicants for appointment. 
fSome of the Janitors, from their favoring circumstances, manage 
by economy and vigilance to make a modest livelihood, but the 
majority receive such inadequate compensation that nothing is 
left after their help is paid. It is to be regretted that we have 
been unable to procure from the Board of Estimate and Apjior- 
tionment either for 1S86 or 1887, a sufiiciency of money to enable 
us to put into operation the scheme of measurement adopted by 
this Board in 1885. This contemplates an increase of about ten 
per cent, in the pay of Janitors, which is a restoration of one-half 
of the twenty per cent, taken from them in 1882. A careful cal- 
culation reveals the fact that these faithful custodians of the 
school property receive on the average $2.34 per day, out of 
wdiich are paid the wages of one man and one woman helper. It 
is obvious that the balance left to the Janitors must be very small. 
The fifteen millions of dollars invested in school property on 
which the city has no insurance is worthy of competent and 
faithful guardians, who are entitled to a just compensation for 
their services. 

The w^ork of consolidating small and inefiicient schools con- 
tinues with commendable rapidity, and last year we succeeded in 
increasing the efiiciency and decreasing the expense by closing 



21 

up five small schools that languished for want of attendance. In 
the case of every good teacher who may suffer loss of position 
through consolidation, it should be the policy of this Board to 
secure, as far as possible, his or her transfer to another i^chool 
without detriment to rank or salary. The necessities of the near 
future in this direction are now under advisement, and in due 
time will be submitted for your consideration. 

The balance of the two million dollars obtained by this Board 
from the proceeds arising from the sale of School-House Bonds 
will soon be exhausted, and if we are to continue the erection of 
the school-houses necessary to meet the imperative demands of a 
rapidly increasing population, it is very important that immediate 
steps be taken to secure the further amendment of the '' School- 
House Bond Bill," " An Act to provide additional accommoda- 
tions for the Common Schools in the City of Xew York,'' passed 
in 188-1, so as to provide for such additional issue of bonds as 
may be deemed necessary. 

At the meeting of the Board held June 15th, an important 
matter was brought to our attention in relation to the necessity 
of providing other accommodations than those now occupied in 
this building, to meet the growing demands of this Department. 
If the proposition for the widening of Elm street be put into 
execution, the dimensions of our building will be so curtailed as 
to make it undesirable and unfit for the further occupancy of the 
Board. The procuring of a new site from the Sinking Fund 
Commissioners on whicli to erect a Hall suitable for the uses and 
purposes of the Board of Education was referred last June to the 
Committee on Buildings. This is a measure that should receive 
our attention without much further delay, as a prudent anticipa- 
tion of the future will relieve the Board of possible difficulty and 
embarrassment. 

The efficacy of the law prohibiting corporal punishment is 
proved by the excellent discipline that generally prevails in all 
the schools. Tlie severest punishment permissible is suspension 
or expulsion, and it is a remarkable fact that, with an average 
daily attendance of 155,000 children, there w^ere only 49 suspen- 



22 

sions last year. During the past five years the number of sus- 
pensions has constantly diminished. This would indicate that 
the old proverb, " Spare the rod and spoil the child," is some- 
what at fault. The punctuality of the pupils is also noticeal)le. 
At nine o'clock in the morning the learners are in their seats to 
commence the work of the day, and it is not unusual to find in 
some of our largest schools every pupil present at the opening 
exercises. 

The cosmopolitan composition of our population, the influences, 
ideas and governments under which man v have grown up who 
have come hither to make this country and this city their 
home, have stamped upon our condition as a community a char- 
acter which makes it indispensable that means, not hitherto suffi- 
ciently appreciated, should be adopted to counteract the alien 
influences of Anarchy and Communism which threaten us to- 
day. An essential and specific part of the training and instruc- 
tion given in our public schools should be a love of country, a 
knowledge of its institutions, a proper estimate of its unrivaled 
advantages and the blessings of a free citizenship. By reading 
lessons, by history of the United States, by recitations and by 
song^ there should be wrought into the hearts of the pupils the 
loftiest sentiments of patriotism. The influences of those who 
would destroy the peace of this city and spread ruin and disaster 
in every household should be overcome by the patriotic teachings 
of the public schools. The nation's flag should be displayed over 
every Principal's desk, and its beautiful symbolism should be 
explained to every youthful learner who may sit under its pro- 
tecting folds. The morning hymns at the opening exercises 
should be in a large measure selected from the inspiring lyrics of 
our country. " Let others make the laws, but let me make the 
songs of the people," is a sentiment M'hich is as pertinent to-day 
as when it was first uttered. Under the adverse influences 
which, during the past few years, have cast a shadow over the 
peace and prosperity of our country, I think I do not exaggerate 
the importance of the proposition I make, that our course of 
study shall prescribe additional provision for such instruction as 



28 

will inspire the pupils of the public schools of New York witli 
sentiments of patriotism and loyalty to the institutions and the 
laws under which they live. 

Having already detained you too long with this presentation 
of some of the important topics and measures now before us, or 
that may soon present themselves for our action, I must release 
your attention that we may proceed with the regular order of 
business. Before doing so, however, permit me to say that, hav- 
ing only a desire to secure an active, efficient, and economical 
administration for the ensuing year, I sliall endeavor, in the ap- 
23ointment of Committees, to distribute the work so that it will, 
as far as possible, be shared ecpially by all. I congratulate the 
Board on the harmony which has characterized the proceedings 
of the past year, and on the fidelity and wisdom with which it 
has discharged its sacred trust. Predicating, from what has been 
done, the character and spirit of that which is to be done, I trust 
that the close of the year will enable us to review our lal)or with 
the confidence that our work has not been in vain. 



